UK: 25/50 of 598

The rushed passage of the Infrastructure Bill with all its pro-fracking provisions and toothless 'safeguards' is an abuse of democracy. And as it's manifestly against the national and public interest, it's also in breach of both MPs' and Lords' legally binding Codes of Conduct. Now Jojo Mehta intends to hold them to account - in Court.more...

Green leader Natalie Bennett may have been lost for words on LBC yesterday, writes Adam Ramsay - but at least she doesn't charge £25,000 for a speech or £10,000 to have dinner with you. Unlike Jack Straw, Malcolm Rifkind and other politicians so deeply mired in corporate influence that they can't even see what they have done wrong.more...

As the UK's nuclear dream fades, writes Chris Goodall, investors are turning to the possibilities of 'Concentrating Solar Power' in the Sahara connected to Europe by HVDC power lines. The cost would be much lower than nuclear or offshore wind, and provide reliable baseload capacity. With the UK government's say so, Tunisian sunshine could soon be powering our grid.more...

The failure of the UK's privatized electricity oligopoly - expensive, uncompetitive and slow to adopt renewable technologies - is being repeated across the global south, writes Christine Haigh: over £100 million of UK 'aid' is supporting energy privatization in the very countries that can least afford it.more...

Public transport often doesn't work for travellers because it's fragmented, deregulated and operated for short-term profit, writes Rupert Read. A Green transport policy would force operators to coordinate their schedules, integrate multiple transport modes, and entice travellers out of their cars building a real public transport 'system'.more...

Donnachadh McCarthy is facing 14 years in prison for his peaceful demands for democratic reform in Parliament Square, following his arrest on the order of 'Boris Guards' answerable to the London Mayor. In total four 'occupy democracy' protestors were arrested this weekend a stone's throw from the Westminster media pack - but not a word in the mainstream news.more...

The UK fracking company Cuadrilla has collapsed in value as a result of falling oil and gas prices, popular protests and growing political opposition, writes Brendan Montague. Now investors are having to write off hundreds of millions they sunk into the industry.more...

The need to bring Britain's population down to sustainable levels was a core principle of the Green movement in the 1970s, writes Anthony Cheke. So why today's 'open door' policy on immigration? And the absence of any meaningful population policy? The Greens must get real on these issues - before Nigel Farage makes them.more...

This week the Welsh Assembly voted for a moratorium on fracking. But IGas company bosses insist that the Welsh Government is powerless to stop them pushing ahead with test drilling plans - as all the key decisions are made in Whitehall.more...

There's a growing chance that the UK's 2015 General Election could bring about the end of its Trident nuclear 'deterrent', writes Jonathan Woodrow Martin, as its renewal looks likely to be central question in the formation of a Labour-SNP coalition government. more...

Countries at the UN have agreed to start formal negotiations on a new 'legally binding instrument' to conserve the biological riches of the high seas that cover 45% of planet Earth, and ensure their sustainable use for the benefit of all mankind.more...

The Green Surge is getting very scary - for Labour Party MPs, candidates and supporters who fear that Green support will undermine 'their' vote, writes Ian Sinclair. So when exactly will it be safe for those desperate for an alternative to neoliberalism and austerity to vote for a genuinely progressive party?more...

UK: 25/50 of 598

The global rebirth of nuclear power was meant to be well under way by now, writes Jim Green. But in fact, nuclear's share of world power generation is on a steady long term decline, and new reactors are getting ever harder to build, and finance. The only real growth area is decommissioning, but that too has a problem: where's the money to pay for it?more...

The lesson of fracking in the US and Canada is a simple one, writes Naomi Klein. The fracking industry is vicious, brutal and will stop at nothing to get its way. British anti-frackers can celebrate yesterday's achievements - but the fight ahead will not be an easy one.more...

The Environmental Audit Committee today calls for shale fracking in the UK to be 'put on hold', writes Paul Mobbs. But the EAC is missing an even more dangerous technology that the Infrastructure Bill would support - underground coal gasification.more...

Campaigners against nuclear weapons on a 'Wrap up Trident' demo at the Ministry of Defence in London today have a new spring in their step, writes Paul Ingram. Thanks to the new electoral geometry of the 2015 general election, they could finally get to close down Britain's £100 billion nuclear weapons programme - and not a moment too soon!more...

Austria will launch its legal challenge against the UK's massive support package for the planned 3.2GW Hinkley Point C nuclear power station by April, writes Arthur Nelsen. The move will add years of delay to the controversial project, and may well finish it off altogether as fears over the troubled EPR reactor design grow, and renewables continue to fall in cost.more...

As hundreds of British dairy farmers are forced out of business by milk prices well below production cost, writes Patrick Holden, it's time for a 'fair trade' British milk label that guarantees a fair price to smaller scale farmers operating to good environmental and animal welfare standards.more...

When 97% percent of respondents to a European Commission 'consultation' on the TTIP EU-US trade deal opposed it outright the Commission accused them of 'hijacking' the process, writes Nick Dearden - and pressed ahead with negotiations. Whose Europe is it anyway?more...

Sneaked out just before Christmas, Defra's assessment of the 2014 badger cull inspired NFU leaders to claim 'success', writes Rosie Woodroffe. But the figures indicate the precise reverse: that too few badgers were killed to be effective against bovine TB, indeed the cull may even help to spread the disease.more...

Last week the consortium holding a £22bn contract to clean up the Sellafield nuclear site was sacked, writes David Lowry. But this is just the end of a long and scandalous tale of corporate profit at taxpayers' expense, and the active collusion of ministers and senior officials in fighting off Parliamentary scrutiny.more...

Nearly a year ago at the height of the UK floods, tragedy struck an ordinary family in Surrey as toxic gas from a nearby landfill site killed a 7-year old boy, Zane. Now the authorities appear determined to exculpate the source of the poison - an old landfill site - even as they prepare for a massive increase in hazardous waste from fracking.more...